Day 33: Cake beauty products

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 33: Cake beauty products

It’s not often that I endorse a product, but in the case of Cake, I’ll make an exception.

Last Wednesday I needed hand cream and went to Drug Market. While there were plenty of lotions, the choice in hand creams was limited. Always on the lookout for something new, I noticed Cake. Pretty little tubes in pastel colors, describing the main ingredients.

I picked up a turquoise tube, paid and headed back to my office. However, when I put my glasses on I noticed that the turquoise tube was foot cream. So, back to Drug Market.

This time I had my glasses with me and noticed three different hand creams by Cake. Something with vanilla, something with shea butter and something with raw Tahitian coconut elixir called Desserted Island.

The tube stated:

We pour in: coconut fruit extract, mango butter, shea butter.

We leave out: parabens, phthalates, GMO.

Sold.

The first time I used it I was amazed. Cake states that their products are to die for, and I fully agree. The hand cream was superior in every way. Yes, the cream was a little expensive, but I’m prepared to pay a little more for quality products.

What I cannot understand is why Drug Market keeps Cake on the bottom shelf of their display cabinets. Cake should be at eye level, or chest level, not ankle level where hardly anyone sees it.

Next, I visited Cake’s website and noticed that they have a range of other products available. Body wash, body lotion, deodorant, lip balm, washes, scrubs, etc.

https://www.cakebeauty.com/

Some people might wonder ... why pay more for a hand cream when there are so many cheap ones. The answer is simple ... the cheap hand creams are glycerin-based and glycerin is a very bad ingredient. In fact, it’s the bottom of the barrel.

While you may like the feel of glycerin, thinking that it feeds moisture to your hands, it does quite the opposite, it robs your skin from its moisture. Glycerin has been known to draw moisture to the surface. So rather than giving, it takes all the skin’s goodness.

So next time you go shopping for hand cream, or any kind of lotion or cream for that matter, check the ingredients. If you see glycerin or parabens in the lineup, walk away. Give Cake a try. It really is to die for and you’ll go straight to heaven.

Day 30: About aging

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 30: About aging

Some people age gracefully while others just can’t accept their age. I noticed a post from a woman on LinkedIn yesterday, let’s call her Ivy, who immediately put my back up. I’m not sure whether it was the look of her or the way she was posing but she's  She’s clearly in her late 50s but she pretends to be 21. 

While I have nothing against people dressing young, there is a difference between dressing fashionable and dressing slutty. The way Ivy was dressed and posed the message was clear … come and get it, boys, I’m available. At her age, this is just ridiculous.

Other than her outfit, her hair bothered me even more. It was either a cheap wig, terrible extensions, or if it was real, badly in need of a cut and deep conditioning. Not only was it long and straggly, it was bleached to the point that it is more yellow than blond.

Then I noticed her name and instantly recognized it. A couple of years ago I responded to a Craigslist ad that asked for a freelance writer. The client, Ivy, sent me an email stating that she wanted descriptions for her products. 

Okay, well, she was at the right address for that with me.

She gave me a long list of what she wanted and what should be avoided. I didn’t agree with her philosophy but okay, if that’s what she wanted, I could work with that.

What Ivy didn’t mention was payment. When I brought up the subject she seemed surprised … payment? Yes, payment Ivy, you might have heard of it, it’s a popular way of reimbursing people for their services.

Ivy was not keen on discussing the subject, but having been around the block a few times, I wasn’t going to do any work until we had an agreement on payment. Eventually, she suggested that she would ‘pay’ me with a couple of free samples of her products.

That was not acceptable to me. I can’t pay my bills or go shopping with free samples. Stores only accept money, in one form or another, so I wanted to be paid in money too. Ivy didn't agree, she thought that one or two samples was more than enough for a dozen or so product descriptions.

From what I could see, Ivy is now recruiting for a business venture, yes, another one. She dipped her toe in several businesses, even calls herself president of company XXX, but it’s all baloney. None of her ideas get off the ground.

In a way, it doesn’t surprise me. One: looking the way she does, nobody is going to take her seriously. Two: she needs to pay her people. If she treats others the way she treated me, it’s no wonder nobody is willing to work for her.

www.connymanero.weebly.com